Portable building



Jan. 17, 1928. I 1,656,682

6. F. SLATER PORTABLE sul-wmc Filed June 29. 1927 I3 I 7 INVENTOR.

jZS/afcr A TTORNEY Patented Jan. 17, 1928.

' UNITED STATES assen PATENT OFFICE.

v GEORGE I". SLATER, OF WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA.

PORTABLE Application .filed June 29,

This invention relates to improvements in portable houses of that type in which previously constructed building units are assembled and secured together to form a structural whole. More particularly, it relates to wall structure in which slabs or panels are secured to a supporting frame byclamping bars. There has come into general use for such wall structures a panel or slab formed of fibrous body partcoated on a side to be exposed to the weather with a layer ofw'aterproof material, ordinarily formedof plaster material. The fibrous body part is compressible, but the plaster coating is inelastic so that when pressure is applied to the clamping bar to form a tight joint the body part yields to the pressure, but the unyielding plaster is liable to crack and break away beneath the bar and adjacent thereto. By the breaking of the plaster, Water and air would be admitted beneath the clamping bar and the elficiency ot the joint would be affected. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a joint in which the coated panels can be tightly secured to the supporting frame by the clamping bar without fracturing the plaster coating of the panel; The means employed for this purpose is described in detail hereinafter, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated byithe accompanying drawing. 1

In the drawing, in which similarreference characters designate corresponding parts, i

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a section of a wall embodying the joint.

Figs. 2 and 8 are sectional views on the line -3 -3 of Fig. 1, the former showing the clamping bar before it is seated and the latter showing the completed point.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 5 designates a supporting frame of any suitable construction and may constitute part of the wall frame of a building. On this supporting frame are mounted the two panels 6 with longitudinal edges meeting, or nearly so, along the frame member 7. Each of the panels comprises a body portion 8 of compressible fibrous material and an exterior coating 9 formed by a layer of waterproof material, such as plaster, adhering to the body part. In the outer side of each panel and extendingalong its longitudinal edge contacting with the frame member 7. is the angular recess 10. The angular recesses in fibrous body parts.

BUILDING.

1927. i SerialNo. 202.436.

the meeting edgesof two panelscomplement each other-to form a groove extending along the frame member 7 and of somewhat greater width. The depthofthe groove so formed is little less. than one-half the thickness of the panels and extends through the layers of waterproof material and part of the Seated on and overlapping the meeting edges of the two panels is the clamping bar 11 having extending longitudinally of its inner face the abutting strip 12 entering the groove formed by the opposite sides of the recesses 10. The width of the abutting strip is somewhat less than. the width of the groove to permit easy entrance therein, but the width of the main part of the clamping bar is greater than the width of the groove to provide a considerable overlap of the bar at 16, on the outer faces of the adjacent panels The depth of the abutting strip is considerably more than that of the groove, as shown in 2, so that when the inner side of the strip contacts with the bottom of the groove the overlapping part of the bar is spaced apart from the outer faces of the panel. rllong the inner face ofthe abut- (ting strip, itis concave .to form the biting angular recesses '10 in the meeting edges of the panels. .In the initial position of the clamping bar thebiting flanges 13 contact with the fibrous body parts of the panels, as

shown in. Fig. 2, and the side portions of the bar as at 16 overlap the plaster surfaces of thepanelsin spaced relation thereto. The

screws 15. previously partly seated, are then turned into the frame member 7 to force the biting flanges 13 into the fibrous material of the panels, as shown in Fig. 8. The clamping bar is forced inwardly until its overlapping sides 16 contact with a slight pressure against the plaster surface 9 of the panels,

the pressure applied being suflicient only to insure a tight contact between the surfaces to exclude air and moisture from the joint. In adjusting the clamping bar, care is taken to avoid the application of pressure sufiicient to deform the frangible plaster layer, for should the plaster be broken and displaced moisture would enter and the efficiency of the joint impaired. The grippingflanges l3 entering the fibrous body part of the anels clinch the latter to the supporting rame. The gripping 'flanges entering the fibrous body part also serve to close tightly the joint between the clamping bar and the meeting edges of the panels to exclude air that might enter between the sides 16 and the panels owing to a faulty contact between the same.

What I claim is: 4

1. In a building structure, the combination with a frame member, of wall panels having meeting edges extending along the frame member and provided in their outer faces with opposite recesses to form at their meet ing edges a groove in longitudinal extension with the frame member, a clamping bar overlapping at its sides the faces of the panels adjacent to their meeting edges and said bar having along its median inner face an abutting strip entering said groove, said strip having a depth in excess of the normal depth of the groove, and means for fastening theclamping bar to the frame member to clamp the panels to the frame member, said means being operative to move the clamping bar with relation to the frame member to force the abutting strip into the material of the panels and the overlapping sides of the bar into contact with the faces of the panels.

2. In a building structure, the combination with a frame member, of wall panels having meeting edges extending along the frame member and provided in their outer faces with opposite recesses to form at their meetingedges a groove in longitudinal extension with the frame member, a clamping bar overlapping at its sides the faces of the panels adjacent to the recesses at their meeting edges and said bar having along its median inner face an abutting strip entering said groove, said strip having a depth in excess of the normal depth of the groove and said strip having its face longitudinally grooved to provide acute gripping flanges at the longitudinal sides of the strip, and means for fastening theclamping bar to the frame member to clamp the panels to the frame member, said means being operative to move the clamping bar to force the gripping flanges into the panels and to move the overher, a clamping bar overlapping at its sides the frangible faces of the panels adjacent to their meeting edges and said bar having along its median inner face an abutting strip entering said groove, said strip having a depth in excess of the normal de th of the groove, and means for fastening te clamping bar to the frame member to clamp the panels to the, frame member, said means being operative to move the clamping bar with relation to the frame member to force the abutting strip into the compressible backing of the panels and the overlapping sides of the bar into contact with the frangible faces of the panels.

4. In a building structure, the combination with a frame member, of wall panels formed of a backing of compressible material and 11 facing of frangible material, said panels being positioned on the frame member with the compressible backing adjacent thereto and said panels having meeting edges extending along the frame member, the panels also having opposite recesses at their meeting edges extending through the frangible faces thereof to form a groove in longitudinal extension with the frame member, a clamping bar overlapping at its sides the frangible faces of the panels adjacent to their meeting edges and said bar having along its median inner face an abutting strip entering said groove, said strip having a depth in excess of the normal depth of the groove and said strip having its face longitudinally grooved to provide acute gripping flanges at the longitudinal sides of the strip, and means for fastening the clamping bar to the frame member to clamp the panels to the frame member, said means being operative to move the clamping bar to force the grip ing flanges into the compressible backing o the panels and the overlapping sides of the bar into contact with the frangible faces of the panels. a

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

GEORGE E. SLATER.

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